Although many have argued that there is a correlation between the word "mother" in most Western languages, this claim can easily be combated. For instance, we know that Mandarin has no connection to the Western languages yet, the word for mother is pronounced "ma." This is not a coincidence. The fact that almost every language has almost the same word for mother is because of "baby-talk." Baby-talk is basically the first and easiest sounds babies can and usually make. As for all of the similarities in words, one can simply blame the migration of people throughout history. However, through observation one can see the relationship between the developed term for "mother" in each language to be slightly changed to fit the accent or tone of each language. For instance the German other is harder in its pronunciation than the English mother : mutter verses mother, respectively.
Works Cited
"Mama and Papa." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Sept. 2012. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mama_and_papa>.
"Online Etymology Dictionary." Online Etymology Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://etymonline.com/>.
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